Since I have nothing better to do now, I’ve decided to click on this Windows Live Writer thing and just jot down some random thoughts that come to my head. I’m still up at 12am because tk asked me to keep him company while he does his work. So here I am.

Today, I played chateh (or however it’s spelt – the bunch of feathers attached to a tiny base that people like to kick around) for PE. It was quite fun. I think I looked like some odd person who had trouble coordinating my leg movement. Like when I try to keep the chateh in the air, I end up hoping around on one foot with the other frantically extended in an attempt to reach for the feathers. But after a while, I managed to get the hang of it.

I’m leaving for Vietnam on Saturday morning with my class for a CIP trip. So far, I’ve been looking forward to the trip, especially before I knew violin exam was cancelled because there was more anticipation. Ok, l don’t want to go into that. I’ll be back next Friday afternoon. After that, I have a busy weekend to clear. There’s a chem test on my birthday and that’s sad.

A personal note: I need to start packing my luggage tomorrow.

I tried planting red beans. 7 days ago, I put one seed in a container and 3 seeds in another. The wonders of private living space are illustrated below:



Both seeds were planted at the same time, but the one living by itself shot up incredibly fast. I'm starting to think it has super growth powers.

ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

My violin exam has been postponed to late July. All because of some ulu volcano that decided to erupt in Iceland, all flights out of Europe are grounded and my examiners can’t fly out in time to examine me on Friday.

Can anyone understand how disappointed I am? I worked doubly hard the past 3 weeks, and I mean it literally. I’ve been averaging 2 hours of practice a day and just when I reach my peak, the world just has to come crashing down on me. Last week was just a nightmare. I practiced late at night, regardless of how late I reached home every day. I barely survived with 4 hours of sleep the past week and now it seems to have just amounted to nothing.

Maybe I just need some time to get over the shock.. I’m just exhausted. I was hoping to be relieved from all this exam stress in 4 days, but now I have to wait 3 months before it’ll finally be over.

Well, I can try to look on the bright side – that I still have time to polish up my pieces. But it’s not as easy as it seems. When I continued violin practice just now after picking up the call, my morale took a plunge and my playing was horrible. Yea I think I need some time to get over this major change. Currently I’m feeling more sad than happy.

Sigh.. I’m slightly sick, but it’s enough to make me less alert. I need to survive this week. It’s going to be hard.

Exactly 2 weeks to violin exam. I’m sprinting this final lap. I just did 2 hours of violin practice today. This whole week, I practiced till my fingers became painful, until the pain numbed away and each time, I’d stop before the cycle was about to repeat itself again. At least, I think I’ve made some progress. This reminds me of the life of asceticism Siddhartha led.

I was looking forward to today, as always, simply because it’s Friday. Fridays are always special because school ends earlier.

Today, I experienced what ageing people experience, only it just started to sink into me. Everything felt different, more different than the last time. The atmosphere changed, even the mood. Or maybe it’s just because I am getting less blind. I think the first ever Cu is possible, but it’s not what I think some really deserve. Maybe zoom and ck have some idea of what I’m typing about. I remained rather stunned, all the way till violin practice killed all those thoughts. Ok I’m just trying to be as ambiguous as possible here.

Maybe I’m tired. Yes, I am.

My left index finger is slightly handicapped. On Saturday, I accidentally slammed a sharp, pointed metal end of a keychain ring between my nail and the rest of my finger. There was some blood but I’ll cut out the graphic details. As a result, whenever I use my first finger on the violin, I have to bear the torture. You can imagine how a vibrato feels like.

I’ve heard “Above All” twice in the last 2 days, once in Chinese (I had to play it on Sunday during worship) and another time today (during chapel). I think this song is a good example in showing how meaning is lost through translation.

Compare this:

Above all powers, above all kings
Above all nature and all created things
Above all wisdom and all the ways of man
You were here before the world began

Above all kingdoms, above all thrones
Above all wonders the world has ever known
Above all wealth and treasures of the earth
There's no way to measure what you're worth

Crucified
Laid behind a stone
You lived to die
Rejected and alone
Like a rose
Trampled on the ground
You took the fall
And thought of me
Above all

with this:

至高权 柄   至高神
超越全地一切被造万物
至高智慧   高过人的道路
唯有祢是全知全能神

至高国度    至高君
超越全地一切奇妙丰富
至尊至贵   胜过世界财富
天上地下唯一的爱慕

神羔羊   宝血为我流
胜死亡   荣耀地復活
耶稣   宝贵神羔羊
为我受死   为我复活   神羔羊

Especially the chorus. The rather powerful imagery in the original English version is nearly, if not completely, lost in the Chinese translation.

Today, I managed to meet Jie Ying in smss (I just realised I can’t type “school” anymore) after weeks of not seeing her around. I think I was quite excited while on 165. I’ll be involved in the concert that’s coming up next next week. Ok that’s all for now. I need to go recharge my brain cells.

Today is Good Friday, a day when most Christians flock to church and Buddhists to the resting places of their ancestors (i.e. the temple outside my house).

Every year, the same video clip is played during the service. It starts off with Jesus praying hard with his disciples (who end up sleeping), then he gets arrested after Judas betrays him. After travelling from place to place, he finally receives the death sentence. Then, he gets nailed to the cross and the video is stopped after he dies. I find that it's only when I'm reminded (with graphic detail) annually that the real significance of Jesus's death starts to renew itself in me. Otherwise, it's hard to imagine.

The choir presented this song - 他为了我们 (We Are the Reason). It sums up why Jesus died on the cross for everyone. In my inexpert opinion, I don't think the choir sang their best today. But that's besides my main point.

Violin exam is in exactly 3 weeks. I practiced for more than 2 hours today and my fingers were seriously aching.